The 23 year-old Kosovar-Albanian Xherdan Shaqiri will join the Serie A giants on loan for the rest of the season. As BBC reports, “Inter Milan have agreed a deal with Bayern Munich to sign winger Xherdan Shaqiri.” The team representatives have publicly informed Shaqiri’s fans worldwide that tomorrow the contract will be signed and he will undergo a medical.
The most popular sports websites and networks all around the world have released and commented on this news. Shaqiri’s move to Inter Milan is being widely discussed, by fans of both Liverpool and Stoke City, who have also shown interest in signing him.
A survey conducted by the CIES Football Observatory shows that Adnan Januzaj, the Kosovar-Albanian midfielder of Manchester United, is among the 100 most valuable players in the world.
Januzaj, who excelled last season under the management of David Moyes, has started to impress the future of soccer. His initial worth is 25 million euros.
The Daily Mail reports that “former Manchester United manager David Moyes has revealed Adnan Januzaj reminds him of Dutch legend Johan Cruyff. Now manager of Real Sociedad, Moyes has been praising the youngster’s talent and attitude since first being impressed by him on United’s 2013 pre-season tour.”
2014 was a successful year for the Kosovo and Albanian diaspora across the world. Representatives of diaspora were noted for their accomplishments in various fields including sports, music, arts and business. We have compiled here only five highlights to remember 2014 and welcome 2015. This list is by no means exhaustive as it includes only some of the many successes of our diaspora.
1. Majlinda is the Best Judoka in World!
Majlinda Kelmendi, the record-smashing judoka from Kosovo, was announced as the best judoka in the world for 2014 by the International Judo Federation. She is World and European champion in judo in the 52 kg category. The 23-year old Majlinda has become the hope of her country for the Rio Olympics in 2016 after Kosovo gained full membership in the International Olympic Committee last December. We wish her all the best as she keeps winning gold!
2. Rita Ora Performed in Washington at President Obama’s Christmas concert
Rita made us all proud with her flawless voice and looks at the President Obama’s concert in Washington. See the video below:
3. Xherdan Shaqiri scored a hat trick at the World Cup
Xherdan scored three goals in a single match for Switzerland against Honduras during the World Cup held last summer in Brazil. The Swiss national team depended in large part on the other Albanian players as well: Valon Behrami, Granit Xhaka, Blerim Xhemajli, Admir Mehmeti and Pajtim Kasami.
4. Shkodran Mustafi and Germany won the World Cup
Shkodran Mustafi became the first Albanian to play for a winning team at the World Cup!
5. Shkëlzen Doli performed at the Vienna Philharmonic concert
The cherry on the cake was a wonderful performance of Albanian music at the Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s concert by Shkëlzen Doli, who was born in Albania and raised in Kosovo.
Last but not least, here’s a remake in Pristina of the 2014 hit “Happy”:
Albian Muzaqi is a 20 year-old Dutch professional footballer of Albanian origin. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany in November 24, 1994. Muzaqi started his early football career in Netherlands, where he emigrated in 2000 with his family. As he lived in Groningen and Eindhoven, he joined CRC Groningen, FC Groningen and PSV Eindhoven. It was in June 2013 that he signed with Belgian football team Koninklijke Racing Club (K.R.C.) Genk, as he sealed a great striker’s performance with 120 goals in U12 and U13 leagues. He recently was leased to the Belgian football team Cercle Brugge from K.R.C. Genk.
In this interview published in the website of Cercle Brugge team, you can learn more how his successful story began.
Robin Haxhi Kransniqi is a rising boxing star in Germany. Born in Junik, the well known Kosovo cradle of champion Luan Krasniqi, Robin has set firm steps towards the world title.
His match against Darius Szek, was a tough test of endurance and force. After 12 rounds of intense fighting, Robin Krasniqi was declared victorious with a unanimous decision by the judges. Apart from the fight in the boxing ring, the crowd had prepared a nice atmosphere. The predominantly Albanian crowd did not stop for one minute calling Robin to his victory.
After the battle, Robin Haxhi Krasniqi thanked the audience for the support in both the German and Albanian language.
Krasniqi’s fight was followed by a great crowd in twitter:
Robin Haxhi Krasniqi triumfon ndaj polakut Sek duke mbrojtur dy titujt në WBA dhe WBO http://t.co/TnD4Zsxldl
The football giant FC Barcelona might have thousands of fans in Kosovo, but it also has a young Kosovar in its ranks, Labinot Kabashi. Even though he is only 14, Kabashi has already shown clear signs of outstanding talent. Born in Skenderaj,Kosovo, Labinot is the first Albanian ever to play for FC Barcelona.
Labinot’s family had been part of the great exodus of Albanians during the 1999 war in Kosovo. Once they settled in Catalunya, Labinot quickly started working on his dream of playing for a major league football team. In the 2010-11 season, Kabashi had joined the D Youngsters who were run by Alex Gomez and a season later, he played for the Jordi Font .
Despite playing in the B team, Labinot Kabashi was summoned to play with the A of Marcel Sans prestigious MIC Football 11, playing a crucial role in the semifinals with a goal against Manchester United . Labinot’s career has had a jump start with his score against Borusia Dortumnd at the Arona tournament.
Have a look at a video coverage of Labinot’s skills:
Shkëlzen Gashi was the hero of the match with his winning goal against the Young Boys team, thus ranking Basel back on top of the Swiss super-league. The goal scored at the 33rd minute by Gashi is his 5th on the league.
Watch Gashi score against the Young Boys:
And a news coverage of Shkelzen Gashi’s play:
Neue Burcher Zeitung
Basel gewinnt gegen YB dank einem Treffer von Shkelzen Gashi 1:0 und ist zurück an der Tabellenspitze. http://t.co/mBtpwsHTlr
The Kosovo national football team played against the Swiss second league team of FC Wil. The team of Albert Bunjaku scored a beautiful goal that eventually led to FC Kosova winning the game. The Kosovar team dominated throughout the whole 90 minutes; great ball possession and team-play led to an easy win. “We only wanted to score more goals in front of this great Albanian audience” said Mr Albert Bunjaku, the coach of the Kosovo team.
The game was played in Switzerland and roughly 2600 fans got the chance to see the Kosovo team face FC Wil.
This is Kosovo’s second victorious match following the friendly with Oman (1:0).
For more insight, please check the following video coverage of the game:
The story of Lirim Hajrullahu is worth our continuous coverage and support. Lirim’s example of integration within the culture and sports of Canada is typical for many Kosovars. A quick search on Youtube or Google will lead one to the many pages and videos that fans and news channels have dedicated to the quickly rising star of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Watch a short video narrate the story of Lirim. The story of a refugee becoming a football star is something we are only used to seeing in the movies. To Lirim and his family, however, this has been a first hand experience. We believe that every migrant brings more than just a workforce to the hosting country. In this case, Lirim’s love for soccer had been translated into the love for American Football, and hamburgers.
www.cfl.ca
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com
http://www.winnipegsun.com
Follow Lirim Hajrullahu on Twitter here and also find out more how other people are commenting Lirim’s rise to success.
Ilir Latifi is climbing up the ladder of success in the MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). At his recent appearance for UFC Sweden and Telegraph.uk, Ilir tells some of his secrets to success.
The story begins with his family, particularly with his parents migrating from Kosovo to Sweden. Like every migrant father, Ilir’s dad held two jobs of great physical demand.Coming from a big family, with eighteen other siblings, his father learned to fend for himself early on. This in turn brought Ilir his first hero, his father. Ilir however attributes his strength to something deeper: “My ancestors (form Kosovo) were farmers. They were hard-working, agricultural people. I think that’s where my strength comes from.”
Ilir remembers his early upbringing as full of challenge and hardships, especially with the location of his house and the bad neighborhood. For Ilir Latifi, the MMA and gym practice are a lot more than building muscle and fighting. The discipline and honor taught through MMA saved his future and are the meaning of life itself. Ilir plans to open up two gyms, one in Sweden and one in Kosovo, with the aims of helping the struggling youth and promoting a self taught disciplined life. “I see MMA gyms the same way I see schools. It’s a place for people to find belief in themselves and to find their potential.”
